Over the 35 years of its existence, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has given rise to a unique lexicon of buzzwords, catch-phrases, and terms-of-art. The depth and creativity of this vocabulary is not surprising, given the complex nature of the ESA's requirements and the pervasive effect they have had on wildlife conservation and the management and use of natural resources throughout the world.

The ESA, we have heard time and time again, is "the pit bull of environmental laws." Depending on the commentator's perspective, the "pit bull" needs to be either "defanged" and sent to "obedience school" or "unleashed" and trained to go for the "jugular vein" of resource development activities. The ESA is regarded by some as a "safety net" for species in the "intensive care unit" and by others as a place where species go to "check in but never check out." Nonfederal landowners entering into contractual habitat conservation plans are entitled to "no surprises" commitments from the federal government, just as landowners seeking to do good things for listed species without fear of regulatory penalties can obtain "safe harbor." Secretary Babbitt had his "five-point plan" for landowner incentives, while Secretary Norton sought to advance "the four C's", and Secretary Kempthorne lauded the "cooperative conservation" approach to ESA implementation.

In his article Climate Change and the Endangered Species Act: Building Bridges to the No-Analog Future, Prof. J.B. Ruhl has added another entry to the ESA edition of Words and Phrases. Ruhl begins his excellent and timely article about the effects of global warming on listed species and how the ESA does, and does not, address the problem by informing the reader: "The pika is toast."